PC-BSD® provides a graphical Package Manager utility to Control Panel which can be used to manage
installed desktops and system components. It can also be used as a front-end to the FreeBSD packages collection. If you prefer to start this utility from the command line, type pc-su pc-pkgmanager.

Figure 7.2a shows Package Manager with its categories expanded. This sample system uses NVIDIA for graphics and the default desktop manager of KDE was kept during the installation. This default view is known as Basic View.

Figure 7.2a: Viewing Installed Components

Install System Components

To install or uninstall components, check the boxes for the components that you wish to install, uncheck the boxes for the components that you wish to remove, then click the "Apply" button to perform the requested operations.

Install FreeBSD Packages

To instead manage FreeBSD packages, click View ➜ Advanced to change to Advanced View. This view is shown in Figure 7.2b with the editors category expanded.

Figure 7.2b: Managing FreeBSD Packages

The search utility can be used to find packages to install. Alternately, if you know the software category, expand it and check the software you would like to install. As you browse, you can select multiple packages. If you click an application name, its Package Information screen will display, as seen in the example in Figure 7.2c.

Figure 7.2c: Viewing a Package's Information

The Package Information is divided into three tabs:

Description: displays the name and version of the package, its download size, the URL to its homepage, and a brief description.

Options: shows the options compiled into the package. Options will be listed as either on or off.

Dependencies: lists any additional packages that will be installed as dependencies of the selected package.

Once you have made your selections, click the "Apply" button to install the selected software.

Update Installed Packages

As newer versions of installed packages become available, they are listed in the "Package Updates" tab of Package Manager. In the example shown in Figure 7.2d, three updates are available, representing package updates to the PC-BSD® utilities, the GUI versions of those utilities, and to the base packages installed with the operating system.

Figure 7.2d: Package Updates Available

Updates are added using the following target schedule:

if you are running RELEASE, any changes to the packages that come with the operating system as well as any packages installed in Basic View show up around the 1st and 15th of each month

if you are running STABLE, any changes to the packages that come with the operating system as well as any packages installed in Basic View show up around the 5th and 20th of each month

if you installed any FreeBSD packages from Advanced View, these show up whenever a new version becomes available

Note that these are target dates which may slip by a few days if the build server experiences problems building packages from ports.

To update to the newest versions of packages, click the "Update packages" button.